Whether you are talking about torrential downpours where rivers are overflowing their banks, or expected tsunamis from a recent earthquake, or maybe ‘high tides’ as I have come to learn about out here on the coast…when extraordinary amounts of water are predicted to ‘flood the area’…the warning for folks in low-lying areas is always the same: “Seek higher ground immediately”.

Seek. Higher. Ground.

A more melodramatic ‘slang’ expression might sound something like this: “Ya’ll better head for the hills…thar’s a flood coming!”

Head. For. The. Hills.

Did you know there’s a passage in Psalms that begins with a question, followed up by the answer, and it has to do with seeking ‘higher ground’. Perhaps you’ve come across it or heard it before…

“Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.” (Ps. 24:3-5)

What I find fascinating about that passage, and one phrase in particular, is when you read through the book of James over in the NT, he’s writing to and admonishing many in the church who have become too friendly with this ‘world’, reminding them that anyone who wants to “be a friend of the world…makes himself an enemy of God”. In fact, James addresses this double-mindedness and flat out calls those who demonstrate such behavior as ‘adulterers and adulteresses’ (James 4:4). Paul does the same in Romans 7:1-6 and 8:5-11. But notice the expression James uses to offer up a ‘remedy’ for this condition of wanting to be both ‘spiritually minded and carnally minded’….

“Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts…you double-minded” (James 4:8). I should also point out that before one can do this, it’s imperative that they first ‘submit to God…and begin resisting the devil…’ (James 4:7).

This idea of having ‘clean hands and a pure heart’ speaks to having ‘moral integrity’, where having ‘clean hands’ represents ‘outward actions’… and a ‘pure heart’ represents your ‘inner life’ and what one’s hidden motivations, thoughts, and intentions focus on.

To state the obvious…we ALL…have serious need of having our hands cleaned and our hearts made pure, which is exactly what Jesus came to do in us, provided we first come to Him with our whole heart. It’s pretty hard for Him to finish, let alone begin this process unless we surrender to Him. Why ‘call Him Lord…if we are not willing to do what He says’, right? (Luke 6:46; John 15:4-5).

And that passage I mentioned the past two days, the one where two men are building homes, one being a ‘wise man’ who built on the rock, and the ‘foolish man’ who built on the sand? Do you remember what both houses were subject to? -- An approaching storm where winds and rains and ‘floods’ beat against the house. Only one house remained intact, and it was the one built by the ‘wise man’ who was described as one who after he ‘hears the word of God…he does what it says’ (Matt. 7:24).

Friends, a flood is coming, and is here already. I believe one could make the case that this flood comes in two stages’, the first wave being a ‘flood of deception’, followed up by a ‘flood of destruction’. The past few days, we’ve been talking about ‘deception’ and ‘flooding storms’, hence the direction of today’s message where people in ‘low lying areas’ would do well to seek ‘higher ground’, but let’s not forget what is required of us in order to ‘ascend to the hill of the Lord’…’clean hands…and _____? (Matt. 5:8; 1 Tim. 1:5; Heb. 12:14)

We can look further into these two ‘waves’ I mention, a flood of deception and a flood of destruction, but the outcome and warning will remain the same: Seek higher ground. And hopefully the results it produces falls in line with Paul’s warning found in 2 Cor. 7:1:

“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

What I fear many fail to see and understand…is this coming ‘flood’ is more ‘spiritual’ in nature, as in a ‘flood of darkness, deception, and destruction’ that is being unleashed today. Interesting, how Isaiah describes how the ‘enemy…comes in like a flood’ (Isa. 59:19)…but also promising that the “Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him…”. Care to guess what that ‘standard’ might be? The Bible calls it ‘holiness’; and two things we should know about it: “Without it, no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). And second…’those who are born of God do not sin…and the wicked one does not touch him’ (1 John 5:18). (Who are the ones that will 'see God', according to Matt. 5:8?)

It’s not like Jesus didn’t utter these warnings, making it clear that ‘unless we repent, we will all likewise…perish’ (Luke 13:1-5). And we know it’s not the will of God for ‘any to perish, but for all to come to repentance’ (2 Pet. 3:9). Why do you think Jesus likened His return as being similar to the ‘days of Noah’? And what did this ‘flood’ do? It ‘carried people away to destruction’ (Luke 17:27-28).

One last thought for today – many of you may recall that horrific tsunami that struck the area in Indonesia and Thailand on Christmas day back in the year 2004. First there was a huge earthquake…and then came the tsunami floods. It was reported in numerous locations that many of the animals…before the flooding waters hit…were seen instinctively moving to higher ground. I was reminded this morning of a passage found in Jeremiah 8:7… 

“Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD.” …which might explain why ‘His people’…are oftentimes… ‘destroyed’ (Hosea 4:6).